LSV Asset Management Trims Stock Position in Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN)

LSV Asset Management decreased its position in Huntsman Co. (NYSE:HUN) by 37.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,349,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,566,991 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Huntsman were worth $109,300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Huntsman in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Huntsman in the third quarter worth about $134,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Huntsman by 1,942.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 9,333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 8,876 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Huntsman by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,281 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,146 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,628 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Huntsman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Huntsman from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Huntsman from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.55.

Huntsman Price Performance

NYSE HUN traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $24.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,363,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,596,781. Huntsman Co. has a 1-year low of $22.14 and a 1-year high of $29.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $25.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.97.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.47 billion. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 1.49% and a positive return on equity of 0.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Huntsman Co. will post 0.43 EPS for the current year.

Huntsman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Huntsman’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. Huntsman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -192.31%.

About Huntsman

Huntsman Corporation manufactures and sells diversified organic chemical products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Polyurethanes, Performance Products, and Advanced Materials. The Polyurethanes segment offers polyurethane chemicals, including methyl diphenyl diisocyanate, polyether and polyester polyols, and thermoplastic polyurethane; and aniline, benzene, nitrobenzene and other co-products.